Ammerswil
Encyclopedia
Ammerswil is a municipality
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...

 in the district of Lenzburg
Lenzburg (district)
Lenzburg District is a district of the Canton of Aargau in Switzerland, lying at the center of the canton. The district capital is the town of Lenzburg. It has a population of .-Geography:...

 in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...

 of Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...

 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. It is located 3 km (2 mi) southeast of the town of Lenzburg
Lenzburg
Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss canton Aargau and is the capital of the district of the same name. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neighbouring municipalities of Niederlenz and...

.

History

While some scattered Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

 items have been discovered in Ammerswil, the first known settlement was an Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...

c farmhouse. The village of Ammerswil is first mentioned in 924 as Onpretiswilare. In 1306 it was mentioned as Ombrechtzwile. It was ruled successively by the Counts of Lenzburg
Lenzburg
Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss canton Aargau and is the capital of the district of the same name. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neighbouring municipalities of Niederlenz and...

, Kyburg
House of Kyburg
The House of Kyburg was family of Grafen or counts from Zürich in Switzerland. The family was one of the three most powerful noble families in the Swiss plateau beside the Habsburg and the House of Savoy during the 11th and 12th Centuries...

 and Habsburg, and then in 1415 by the city-state of Bern. Starting in the 13th century, the rights to low justice
High, middle and low justice
High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judiciary power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents....

 and tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...

s were held by the Lords of Hallwyl. In the 14th century, these rights changed hands several times (the Freiherr
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...

 of Fridingen, Freiherr of Grünenberg and the Lords of Ballmoos). In 1484 these rights transferred to Bern, which annexed Ammerwil into the court of Othmarsingen in the Lenzburg district (Oberamt Lenzburg).

The Late Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 aisleless church
Aisleless church
An Aisleless church is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways either side of the nave separated from the nave by colonnades or arcades, a row of pillars or columns...

 was expanded in 1640. It has a barn, and a prebend storehouse. The Classicist
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...

 rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

 was built in 1783 by Carl Ahasver von Sinner.

Geography

Ammerswil has an area, , of 3.19 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi). Of this area, 1.06 km² (0.409268288108087 sq mi) or 33.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.85 km² (0.71428899339619 sq mi) or 58.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.29 km² (0.111969625991835 sq mi) or 9.1% is settled (buildings or roads).

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 23.2% is used for growing crops and 9.4% is pastures.

The municipality is located in the Lenzburg district, in a side valley between the Bünz and See valleys. It is surrounded by woods except in the north-west. A new housing development from the 1970s and 1980s has somewhat replaced the original village square as the main village center.

Coat of arms

The blazon
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

 of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is Argent a Semi Deer rampant issuant Gules from Coupeaux Vert.

Demographics

Ammerswil has a population of , 10.8% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 24.5%. Most of the population speaks German (96.6%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.6%) and Portuguese being third ( 0.8%).

The age distribution, , in Ammerswil is; 65 children or 9.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 87 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 77 people or 11.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 95 people or 14.4% are between 30 and 39, 135 people or 20.5% are between 40 and 49, and 92 people or 14.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 57 people or 8.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 35 people or 5.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 14 people or 2.1% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 2 people or 0.3% who are 90 and older.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.55 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.57 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 65.6% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

 or a rent-to-own agreement).

, there were 12 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 79 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 127 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 234 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. there were 164 single family homes (or 62.6% of the total) out of a total of 262 homes and apartments. There were a total of 1 empty apartments for a 0.4% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 9.2 new units per 1000 residents.

In the 2007 federal election
Swiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...

 the most popular party was the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...

 which received 40.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (20.5%), the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....

 (12.1%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...

 (10.7%).

In Ammerswil about 81.4% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...

). Of the school age population , there are 45 students attending primary school in the municipality.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1650 c. 100
1798 208
1850 295
1860 312
1900 332
1930 326
1950 298
1960 327
1970 345
1980 317
1990 421
2000 609

Heritage sites of national significance

The Pfrundspeicher (Prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...

 store house) on Hendschikerstrasse is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...

.

Economy

, Ammerswil had an unemployment rate of 1.28%. , there were 50 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 14 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 6 businesses in this sector. 37 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 18 businesses in this sector.

there were 326 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 274 or about 84.0% of the residents worked outside Ammerswil while 56 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 108 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 11% used public transportation to get to work, and 66% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 161 or 26.4% were Roman Catholic, while 363 or 59.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...

. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 individual who belonged to the Christian Catholic
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...

faith.
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